Budget-Focused Travel Planning App
As travel begins to rebound post-pandemic, budget constraints are expected to be top of mind for many people due to the financial toll of the pandemic.
Project Brief
This Casestudy is a hackathon project that was a partnership with GA & ADP list where our prompt was to build a product relating to finances and financial wellness
Time Line
5 days
Role
UX Designer
Team
2 Designers & 4 Developers
Tools
Figma Google Docs Trello
Problem
Many travelers face challenges when planning their trips due to the lack of tools to track their budget. Traditional booking sites do not provide a way to allocate funds per category, which can lead to overspending and financial strain
Solution
Budget focused travel planning app which provides options based on allocated budget per category by users.
Background Story!
During a team brainstorming session, I shared a story of a friend's recent trip, where overspending negatively impacted her finances. I proposed the idea of developing a platform that could help prevent similar situations and better manage travel budgets. The team found the idea compelling and decided to explore it further.
Secondary Research
According to The Canadian Tourism Commission:
The majority of young Canadian travellers (62%) book their vacation trips online
Budget constraints are a significant factor in their choice of travel destination
6 out of 10 young travellers would have chosen a different destination on their most recent trip had their travel budget been larger
The dates for which millennials can obtain the best price for their trip is the main criterion for selecting the time of travel
Decoding the competition
When we set out to develop our platform, we knew we needed to understand what other industry leaders were offering. We performed an in-depth competitive analysis, scrutinizing big names to uncover their strengths and weaknesses.
What we discovered was surprising: while these platforms excelled in various areas, none of them offered an essential feature that we knew users were demanding - the ability to enter a budget and breakdown expenses per category. We recognized this as a major pain point, and that's where Welcome decided to soar higher.
What did we find?
In-depth interviews with 5 target users provided valuable insights into their experiences, wants, and needs. During these interviews, we were able to dive deep into their perspectives and gain a thorough understanding of their preferences and pain points.
Meet Emily!
Based on the valuable insights gathered, we created a persona named Emily – a university student who embodies the characteristics and aspirations of our primary user group.
Evolution of the outcome
Evolution of the budget breakdown feature
We underwent multiple rounds of iteration for our travel planning app to ensure the inclusion of crucial budget breakdown feature is intuitive and user friendly
Evolution of Add to Trip Button
We went through several rounds of iteration to ensure that the "Add to Trip" button provides the best possible user experience. This feature allows users to save travel and food options to their itinerary with just a click.
Wander wallet in action
Allocating Budget Per Category ⟢
⟣Budget Allocation
⟣Itinerary Creation
Learnings and Next Steps!
I would like to conduct user testing with a larger and more diverse group of people to help identify any additional challenges or issues that may not have been discovered during initial testing. This will help to improve the overall user experience and make the product more accessible to a wider range of users
Due to time constraints, we could not test the accessibility of the product, If I were to do this project again, I would keep accessibility at forefront of the product development
Collaborating with developers is crucial in the design and development process. The developers can provide valuable insights into the feasibility of design ideas, and I Emphasize keeping developers in loop and inform design decisions as early as possible.